IIM Bangalore signs agreement with minority affairs ministry, NMDFC

BENGALURU: IIM Bangalore on Friday entered into two significant collaborations with the Ministry of Minority Affairs and the NMDFC to strengthen public programme delivery and innovation initiatives, the institute said. The collaborations will leverage the Institute's strengths in public policy, entrepreneurship and innovation to support initiatives aimed at creating inclusive and sustainable economic opportunities, it said.

The MoUs were signed and exchanged at IIMB here by S P Roy, Joint Secretary, MoMA, in the presence of Srivatsa Krishna, Secretary, MoMA, the institute said.

In a statement, IIMB said the partnerships marked an expansion of its engagement with public institutions on initiatives that require rigorous evidence, institutional capacity and outcome-oriented implementation.

Prof U Dinesh Kumar, Director-in-charge, IIMB, said, "IIMB values the responsibility entrusted to it through such efforts, particularly where its expertise can help strengthen public programmes and their outcomes."

Third-party field-level inspection

"Through our Centres of Excellence, both of which have over 25 years of experience in creating impact on the ground, we are keen to bring our understanding, knowledge and capabilities to initiatives that can expand opportunities for minority communities as well as enable pathways for enterprise," he added.

Through its Centre for Public Policy (CPP), the Institute will undertake independent third-party field-level inspection and concurrent monitoring of training centres under the Pradhan Mantri Virasat Ka Samvardhan (PM VIKAS) Scheme across the South Zone, IIMB said. The initial engagement covers 43 training centres across Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Keralam, Tamil Nadu and Telangana.

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The monitoring will assess key aspects of programme implementation, including training delivery, infrastructure, participation of beneficiaries and trainers, attendance, certification and placement outcomes, it said. "Field verification and consultations with relevant stakeholders will generate evidence to help identify implementation gaps, strengthen monitoring mechanisms and improve programme outcomes under PM VIKAS," IIMB said in its statement.

The second collaboration, between IIMB Innovations, through its entrepreneurship and incubation centre NSRCEL (N S Raghavan Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning), and NMDFC, will focus on strengthening the entrepreneurship and startup ecosystem for minority communities, it said.

IIMB partnership

The partnership will support entrepreneurship skilling and capacity building, promotion of innovation, incubation and startup support, research and evidence-based policy, and technology-enabled approaches to enterprise development, it said.

Rasika Prashant, CEO, IIMB Innovations (NSRCEL), said, "Inclusive innovation is vital for India's startup ecosystem. By combining our incubation support with the vision of MoMA and NMDFC, we will be empowering minority founders with expert mentoring, market access and enterprise support to help them achieve scale, market-readiness and attract investment."

A key area of the collaboration will be the Prime Minister Minority Venture Fund (PM-MVF), with potential initiatives spanning entrepreneurship awareness, startup identification, incubation and mentoring, investor and industry linkages, market access and enterprise development, the Institute said. The collaboration is also envisaged to create avenues for knowledge exchange and institutional support across emerging sectors, it added.